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NEW YORK - Geoffrey Mutai of Kenya captured the men's title at the New York City Marathon on Sunday in course-record time, while Firehiwote Dado of Ethiopia claimed the women's crown.

Mutai, who set the Boston Marathon record earlier this year, finished in a time of two hours, five minutes and six seconds, surpassing the previous mark of 2:07:43 set by Tesfaye Jifar of Ethiopia in 2001.

"The race was not easy.," said Mutai. " Although I won, it was not easy. The course was tough."

In April, Mutai set the course-record in Boston, finishing in two hours, three minutes and two seconds.

Fellow Kenyan Emmaunel Mutai (no relation) was the runner-up for the second straight year, finishing in 2:06:28, while Tsegaye Kebede of Ethiopia took third with a time of 2:07:14.

"The race was more or less very good for me," said Kebede. "It's a new race for me. I've never run here before, and the course has a lot of uphills and downhills, which is also good for me. So I believe it went well."

Defending title winner Gebre Gebremariam finished fourth at 2:08:00.

Dado, a three-time Rome Marathon champion, captured the women's title in comeback fashion, overtaking Ethiopian Buzunesh Deba to finish in a time of 2:23:15 in her New York Marathon debut.

"I'm very happy," said Dado. "It was a very good race. It was a tough race, and I didn't expect this result. But I'm very happy to have won New York."

Deba, who lives in the Bronx and is the fastest-ever female New York marathoner, hit the wire in a time of 2:23:19.

The top American man on Sunday was 2009 champion Meb Keflezighi of California, who placed sixth with as time of 2:09:13.